Replika's help center defines what avatar and AR features do

The design

Replika, made by Luka, Inc., lets a user customize the appearance of their AI companion and, separately, project an animated version of it into physical space using a phone camera. Replika's help center describes the first feature in an article titled 'How do I change my Replika's avatar?', which walks through changing hair, skin, and eye options from a store menu, and states that 'only subscribers can choose a new avatar after the initial setup,' though 'all users can change appearance customization options at any time.' The second feature, described in a separate article titled 'How do I start AR (Augmented Reality) with my Replika?', instructs a user to open an in-chat activities menu, select AR Mode, and, in the company's words, 'hang out with your Replika in the real world.'

What the evidence says

Both descriptions are Replika's own operational instructions rather than technical specifications: neither article states what underlying technology renders the AR avatar, how accurately it tracks a physical room, or how many users engage with either feature. The AR article's own tip, to use AR 'in a well-lit, spacious area' and to 'stand up and move around,' indicates the feature depends on a device's camera and some form of tracking, but Replika does not publish the specifics. No adoption or usage figures appear in either document, and none should be assumed from the description alone.

What it asks of people

Both features ask for a device's camera access, for AR mode specifically, and for continued subscription payment to unlock full avatar customization after initial setup. The AR article's suggestion to 'talk to them out loud and get a response' asks a user to treat the projected avatar as physically present enough to address audibly, a design choice that leans toward a sense of presence rather than pure utility.

Privacy and safeguards

Neither help article discusses what camera data AR mode captures, whether image or video frames are processed on-device or sent to Replika's servers, or how long any such data is retained; that accounting, if it exists, sits in Replika's separate privacy policy, which this entry does not evaluate. A reader enabling camera-based AR features in any companion app should look for that camera-specific disclosure separately from a general privacy policy, since help-center instructions of this kind are not written to satisfy it.

• Does the app's camera permission apply only during active AR sessions, or does it persist afterward?
• What subscription tier, if any, is required for full avatar customization versus AR access?
• Where, outside these instructional pages, does Replika describe what AR image data it processes or stores?

Replika's own documentation is candid about how to operate these features and largely silent on how they work underneath or what they collect, a gap common to consumer help-center writing that a reader should not mistake for an absence of any such processing.